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Honda BF15A forward/propellor bush issues

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Anthomny Heaslip

New member
Hi. I am new member - from Oztralya. The rubber bush on my propellor got chewed out the other day. I took prop off and have ordered new prop but there seems to be something funny going on in forward gear which may have caused the bush to chew out - or it may just be a coincidence.
Hopefully someone can help out there.
So, going into forward and reverse is fine. When I rotate prop shaft in reverse it doese the usual ratchet in reverse and sort of lock up in the opposite direction. I am assuming this doesn't fully lock as my Mercruiser 140HP 3.0L does because of it being a small engine.
Neutral is all fine too.
In forward it doesn't ratchet properly when I turn in clockwise direction it will turn but very difficult.In the oppositee direction the result is about the same.
I have taken off propeller bottom section and pulled shaft out and all looks good there. No oil issues. I haven't hit anything so don't believe it is a bent shaft. One thing I did notice was that the large nut to separate shift shaft is very difficult to move. Lock nut comes undone fine.
Let us know what you think.
Regards, Anthony H.
 
Oztralya huh? Is that just outside Tucson?...Sorry, couldn't resist being a smart @$$.

You are probably right on top of the issue. If the long nut is hard to turn, it is probably only because of one of two things going on. Either you just need some good penetrant (got PB Blaster in Oztralya?) to free it up and then some good lube (like marine grease) to keep it that way or, it has been cross threaded and is binding. You don't say if you are the original owner but if you are, then you don't have the old "previous owner" excuse to blame anything on.

Oh yeah, the upper shaft COULD be bent slightly causing the long nut to bind. This could be from "dry shifting". IE: shifting the motor without the engine running and forcing the lever to try and get it in gear. DON"T DO THAT! Always turn the prop while "dry shifting".

Your issue COULD be from a poor shift shaft adjustment. I don't think that would have caused your prop hub to spin out though. They wear out and spin. Or, you hit something and they spin. or, you get so much fishing line wrapped up on the shaft that all kinds of bad things start to happen and...they spin.

With the gear case manually shifted into reverse gear, make sure that you have the jam nut threaded on to the lower shift shaft to leave approximately 8mm thread protrusion. Then, with the shift lever in reverse position, thread your recently freed/repaired adjuster nut down onto the lower shift shaft until it contacts the pre-positioned jam nut. Then jam 'em up mate. That is the standard shift adjustment. If it still doesn't seem right, then you probably do need to go back in the gear case to inspect for wear on the "shift rod". it is the "stepped shoe" on the end of the lower shift shaft that pushes the shift pin. That usually only causes problems going into reverse but, who knows?

Try all that and let us know what you come up with.
 
Thanks for that jgmo. No PB Blaster here but we do have Inox, RP7 and WD40. I am not original owner so yes I can blame someone else! I will work on freeing up the adjuster nut. Funny you should mention fishing line. Some 30lb braid got wrapped in there on the last trip. I stopped and pulled all out straight away, and it wasn't that much, but maybe it was in there long enough?... I will set up the shift nut as you have described and see what let you know how it goes. Cheers.
 
One other thing to check after you check as JimmyD suggested and before you take anything apart.

There is a short linkage (part #15) that connects from the shift arm (at the top of the engine) to the shift link (part #18) on the linkage that goes to the shift rod. It will probably be the first to bend if you try too hard to shift into gear while the motor is not running. Once bent, it may either not go into reverse or it will jump out of gear. It should lock like your Mercruiser.

You can see the linkage ( a rod about 1/8 inches - 3 to 4 millimeters in diameter)(part # 15)... As you shift you can see it move back and forth and you can see the detent falling into place on the black plastic wheel (part #18) The detent roller should go all the way into each rounded out area. If it only goes into only two of them, the problem is probably the short linkage (if your shift adjustments are good) http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard%20Engine/1999/BF15AX%20LA%20OUTBOARD%20ENGINE%2C%20JPN%2C%20VIN%23%20BAAL-1400001%20TO%20BAAL-1499999/OIL%20CASE%20%2B%20ENGINE%20COVER/parts.html

It is a real pain to change. I just did one last week. If it is bent, buy a new one. You can straighten the old one, but it would be weakened and would probably fail again.

Hope that was not too confusing.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike. Checked that and all seems good there. it does seem to go into gear properly there is a nice little clunk forward and reverse. I have loosened adjuster nut now and just putting back into right spot so will see what happens. Cheers.
 
I decided to take lower leg off to have a look. When pushing and pulling the lower shift lever up and down there was a bit of fiddling around but it went into gears OK and turning the main drive shaft clockwise turned prop shaft in correct direction. i then put back together and same thing happened as before. I should clarify that prop shaft does turn when in forward but it doesn't rachet - the engine turns over while i turn the prop shaft in forward gear. In reverse it ratchets when I turn counter clockwise.
 
I am not sure what you are turning in your last sentence. The prop shaft or the vertical drive shaft.
The propeller shaft should lock when in reverse, if you turn it clockwise.
The propeller shaft should lock when in forward, if you turn it counterclockwise.

I think if you have it in forward and turn it clockwise, it will either ratchet or you will feel resistance.

We have moved everything out of our business this week, but we have a 15A on a dingy in case the water comes up too high. I will try to remember to check what I said above, when I go down tomorrow.

One question, the Jimmy eluded to...is this motor new to you? Or...have you had it for some time and this just started happening?

Mike
 
Hi Mike. Motor is not new to me. This has just started happening. In my last sentence I am turning the prop shaft again after putting lower leg back on. i guess I should ask - Should it definitely ratchet when in forward gear and I turn prop shaft clockwise? There is definitely resistance there. With the cowling off the belt up the top turns around as I turn the prop shaft clockwise. One other thing I did read somewhere else is that I need to be in forward gear when I reinstall prop shaft so I will make sure of that. Cheers.
 
If it is in forward and you turn the prop counterclockwise, it should definitely turn make the timing belt move. You should not be able to turn it clockwise and move the belt...although there should be some resistance.
You
I said I would check today, but even though it is my day off, I went to work to clean up from the flood. I forgot to check the 15A we have out. I will try to remember tomorrow.

I did not know you removed the prop shaft itself. Make sure that you did not drop part #16 (there are two) and forget to put it back in. They are very important for proper shifting. You may also want to check to be sure that #2 is not broken. That will also cause shifting problems.
http://www.boats.net/parts/search/Honda/Outboard%20Engine/1999/BF15AX%20LA%20OUTBOARD%20ENGINE%2C%20JPN%2C%20VIN%23%20BAAL-1400001%20TO%20BAAL-1499999/PROPELLER%20SHAFT%20%2B%20PROPELLER/parts.html

Mike
 
Thanks again mike. OK, when I turn counterclockwise in forward the timing belt moves as you said. It also does it in forward. So there is definitely an issue there. Any ideas? I will go check now that parts you mentioned are still instead. Part No. 2 is not broken. Everything in there looks in very good nick.
Cheers, Anthony.
 
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